Welcome

The Joint NIH and USDA Workshop on Using Nanotechnology To Improve Nutrition Through Enhanced Bioavailability and Efficacy will be held at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center on November 29 and 30, 2011, in Bethesda, MD. The goal of the workshop is to discuss and evaluate the state of the science and to identify knowledge gaps in the use of nutrients (and bioactive food components) for disease prevention and opportunities to improve safe, targeted delivery and controlled release of these components to improve absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination through nanotechnologies. Another goal is to catalyze collaborations and stimulate ideas for diet and disease prevention research. Sessions will highlight several emerging areas of potential utility in nutrition and food science research. Sessions include “Knowledge Gaps in Effective Nutrition and Disease Prevention,” “Applications of Nanotechnology To Enhance Nutrition for Disease Prevention,” “Opportunities and Challenges in the Food Sciences With Nanotechnologies,” and “Ethical, Legal, and Societal Implications of Nutritional Nanotechnology.” Discussions will focus on topics that include the problems and possibilities of introducing nanoparticles in clinical or nutrition settings; nanotechnology applications for increasing bioavailability and targeting of bioactive food components for disease prevention; nanomaterials in food products; the emerging safety, regulatory, and consumer issues related to nutritional nanotechnology; and the application of nanotechnologies for a greater understanding of the molecular mechanisms by which bioactive food components exert their activity. Group discussions are scheduled at the end of each session to identify opportunities and challenges in the field. These discussions will contribute to efforts to explore new research endeavors and next steps for using nanotechnology to improve nutrition.